


On The Road to California

by VarjoRuusu



Category: The West Wing
Genre: Cute, Election Day, Established Relationship, F/M, Flings, Josh/Donna Mention Only, M/M, Non-exclusive relationship, Short, Will/Sam Mention Only
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-06
Updated: 2017-02-06
Packaged: 2018-09-22 13:19:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,177
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9609179
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VarjoRuusu/pseuds/VarjoRuusu
Summary: Sam screws up when he goes to California to meet Will for the first time, but it turns out that's not really a big deal because Josh actually is the head of the national committee for the worlds worst timing and he screwed up too. On the other side of the country, on the exact same day.In which Sam and Josh are possibly a little too well synced and Donna is exasperated.





	

**Election Day – November 5 th 2002**

“Donna, a few days ago I went out to California to see this guy named Will Bailey, running the Horton Wilde campaign in the California 47th. You know Horton Wilde died...”

“Yeah I heard,” Donna shook her head. “It's wild.”

“They wanted to know if there as a democrat that would take his place for the special election if he won...”

“Oh you didn't,” Donna grinned and Sam shook his head.

“It's gets worse, Donna,” he said, grasping her elbow gently and steering her away from the newspaper stand and under an awning out of the way of the foot traffic on the street.

“What's worse?” Donna inquired, genuinely curious.

“I told Will I'd do it,” Sam said, figuring it would be better just to be blunt about everything. “I told him I'd do it right before...I kissed him.”

“Sam!” Donna gasped. “Did you?”

“Go back to his hotel room and spend the night-”

“Sam!”

“Yeah. Yeah I did,” Sam said, staring down at his coffee. Donna was silent for moment, her mouth hanging open before she recovered herself.

“Have you told Josh?”

“Are you insane? He'd probably kill me,” Sam shook his head.

“You might be surprised,” Donna said quietly and Sam looked up, surprised.

“Donna? What don't I know?” he asked, picking up on every single one of her nervous ticks. Every one.

“While you were in California, Josh and I had...a moment...”

“A moment.”

Donna shrugged. “A moment.”

“Donna.”

“Ok, a night.”

“You slept with Josh?” Sam asked, his eyebrows raised so high he though they might disappear into his hair or etch permanent valleys in his forehead.

“I'm sorry, Sam, he was upset, he thinks he's losing you and he was hurting and...”

“You've been pining for the last four years?” Sam said, smiling a little. Donna's crush on Josh was no secret.

“You're not mad at me?” she asked, finally looking up at him. Sam shrugged.

“Well, I'm not really in a position to be passing judgement right now, am I?”

“No,” Donna smiled. “I guess not.”

“Do I have to tell him?”

“Do you want me to be there?”

“Would you?”

Donna rolled her eyes. “Why can't you two fix your messes yourself?”

“Because you're so much better at it and we need a mediator?” Sam suggested with a grin.

She rolled her eyes again and shivered. She was having no luck out here trying to get someone to swap ballots, she might as well take a break and get warm.

“Come on,” she said, taking Sam's elbow and walking back to the West Wing.

“Josh,” she said when she got to his door, not bothering to knock. Sam stayed a little behind her, not wanting to be in the path of hurricane Lyman and knowing Donna could easily take care of herself.

What, Donna, I'm a little busy right now,” Josh said, not looking up from the page he was reading.

“Sam knows,” Donna said without preamble. Josh looked up now, seeing Sam hovering outside the door before he looked back at Donna.

“Knows about what?” he asked, his stomach already sinking. Donna waved her finger back and forth between Josh and herself and Josh sighed.

“Great, well, will you tell him to wait to yell at me until later?”

“I'm not going to yell at you,” Sam interjected, peering around Donna.

“You're not?”

Donna twitched and folded her arms, stepping to the side to keep both of them in her line of sight.

“Why?” Josh asked, his face more puzzled than Sam had ever seen it and that had included the first time Sam had asked him out, however long ago that even was. Neither one of them really kept track.

“I...well...” Sam started, stuttering out mid word and gripping his coffee cup a little tighter.

“Sam found a boy toy while he was in California, Josh, that's why he's not yelling at you. You two are the most ridiculous men I have ever met, you really are perfect for each other, screwups and all,” Donna grumbled before fleeing the room, leaving Sam to fend for himself, ignoring the look of betrayal that was aimed at her back.

Sam and Josh just stared at each other for a few minutes, neither willing to be the first one to speak.

“I've got a meeting,” Sam said finally and Josh jumped a little nodding.

“I've got fifteen pages to read in the next hour and I don't understand a word of it,” he said, glancing back at his desk.

“Ok.”

“Ok.”

“I'll...see you later,” Sam said tentatively and Josh nodded, already lost in another world. Sam hightailed it out of the bullpen and to his own office, sinking into polling data and exit numbers and anything to keep his mind off of Josh.

“Yeah?” Sam called in response to the knock on his door. He glanced up and saw Josh looking through the doorway and waved him inside. Josh closed the door and leaned on it, watching Sam, who looked at the clock and realized three hours had passed already.

“You slept with Will Bailey?” Josh asked finally, his face the adorable confused that Sam loved to see, especially early in the mornings. Right now though it didn't make him feel the normal bubble of happy.

“You slept with Donna,” he replied, resisting the urge to lean back in his chair. He didn't want to look like he wasn't bothered. He was, just not very much. It was Donna. Donna was, after all, god.

Josh stood silently for a moment as Sam watched the gears tick. Finally he opened and closed his mouth a few times then met Sam's eyes and grinned.

“Fair point,” Josh conceded. “Sorry.”

“Me too,” Sam said quietly.

“Are you going? To California,” Josh clarified at Sam's blank look. “Are you going to go run in the California 47th?”

“Why would I?” Sam asked, genuinely confused.

“You said you would, you're from California, you've got a … boy toy,” Josh rattled off shrugging and Sam laughed.

“Josh, there's nothing in California for me,” Sam said with an indulgent smile.

“No?”

“No.”

“Well..what's...why not?”

“My job is here, the president is here. You're here,” Sam said softly. “Josh I'm not leaving, not unless you throw me out. Even then you might have some trouble getting rid of me.”

“Ok,” Josh said just as softly. “We should probably get couples counseling or something.”

“Or we could get a six pack, go back to your place and spend the night celebrating. Preferably without clothing,” Sam suggested.

“You're on,” Josh grinned widely. “I've got some things to finish, I'll meet you there in an hour?”

“Make it an hour and a half, I have to finish this speech,” Sam chuckled, sliding his glasses back on.

“It's a date,” Josh said, waving as he left the office. Sam shook his head and chuckled, wondering just how much weirder his life was going to get in the next four years.

**Author's Note:**

> This, I don't even know what this is. I was watching season four, and when Sam went out to California my brain started screaming at me. I could have made this angsty as hell but I ended up making it hilarious instead. I've found it's very easy to write Sam and Josh but I'm left worrying that Josh and his speech patterns don't come across so well in words rather than on TV. So I hope if you've read this, you know the show well and you know how Josh talks and you were able to find the funny. :)


End file.
